This article is more than 1 year old

Putin and pals dump Apple's iPads for Samsung slabs... over security concerns

Kremlin cites worries over US snooping

The Kremlin has ditched its iPads over fears that they would not withstand US snooping and replaced them with Samsung fondleslabs.

Telecoms minister Nikolai Nikiforov said Sammy's gizmos were "specially protected devices that can be used to work with confidential information".

"Some of the information at government meetings is confidential in nature and these devices fully meet these demands and have gone through the strictest system of certification," he said.

Nikiforov denied the accusation that the Kremlin pulled an iron curtain across Apple in revenge for Obama's call to punish Russia for annexing Crimea.

"We are not proposing any sanctions," he said.

The minister said he had read a report which suggested American spooks were planning to "significantly increase the volume of information they intercept, (which) of course causes serious concern to many governmental clients".

"This obviously orientates Russian clients, primarily state ones, to be very choosy about their partners in IT," Nikiforov continued.

This is likely to benefit Far Eastern firms like Samsung, the minister concluded. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like